1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to granules having a relatively high content of ethanol (below "alcohol") and a process for the preparation of alcohol-containing granules by fluidized-bed spray granulation.
2. Discussion of the Background
It is known that alcohol-containing instant beverage mixtures may be produced by adsorption of alcohol-containing components to non-volatile components (German Offenlegungsschrift 195 00 919). Fixing the alcohol to the surface by adsorption cannot ensure permanent encapsulation of the alcohol, which greatly restricts the handleability and leads to high alcohol losses in the unpackaged state. In particular, these powders are not free-flowing.
It is further known that alcohol-containing powders having a high alcohol content and high alcohol yield can be produced (German Patent Specification-C 32 14 321; U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,165) by spray-drying hydrolyzed starch containing at least 50% oligosaccharides having a degree of polymerization of glucose of up to 8 and containing up to 10% saccharides having a degree of polymerization of glucose of up to 2 in an alcohol-containing aqueous solution. The requirements made of the support in this process with respect to the degree of polymerization restrict the usable materials greatly, however. Moreover, the particle properties (size, structure) can only be varied in a limited manner.